RanBP2-Mediated SUMOylation Promotes Human DNA Polymerase Lambda Nuclear Localization and DNA Repair

Cellular DNA is under constant attack by a wide variety of agents, both endogenous and exogenous. To counteract DNA damage, human cells have a large collection of DNA repair factors. Among them, DNA polymerase lambda (Polλ) stands out for its versatility, as it participates in different DNA repair and damage tolerance pathways in which gap-filling DNA synthesis is required. In this work we show that human Polλ is conjugated with Small Ubiquitin-like MOdifier (SUMO) proteins both in vitro and in vivo, with Lys27 being the main target of this covalent modification. Polλ SUMOylation takes place in the nuclear pore complex and is mediated by the E3 ligase RanBP2. This post-translational modification promotes Polλ entry into the nucleus, which is required for its recruitment to DNA lesions and stimulated by DNA damage induction. Our work represents an advance in the knowledge of molecular pathways that regulate cellular localization of human Polλ, which are essential to be able to perform its functions during repair of nuclear DNA, and that might constitute an important point for the modulation of its activity in human cells

Groundwater pollution in quaternary aquifer of Vitoria - Gasteiz (Basque Country, Spain)

As a result of diverse changes in land use and in water-resource management in the high basin of the Zadorra River (Basque Country), an important loss of water resources and an intense contamination by nitrogen compounds has taken place. The purpose of this paper is to detail the land transformations that have taken place on the aquifer since the 1950s: increase of drainage network, change from dry to irrigated farming, and diversion of rivers at the aquifer unit inlet. Furthermore, we analyze the impact of these transformations on the hydrodynamics and water quality of this aquifer system

Determination of Soluble Sugars in Arabidopsis thaliana Leaves by Anion Exchange Chromatography

Determination of soluble sugars is basic for the study of carbon metabolism in plants. Soluble sugar quantitation can be achieved by enzymatic methods implying different coupled reactions. Here we describe a simple method that allows rapid determination of the most abundant soluble sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose) in Arabidopsis leaves by anion exchange chromatography. We have applied this method to study the levels of soluble sugars during the photoperiodic transition to flowering (Ortiz-Marchena et al., 2014).España, MINECO projects CSD2007-00057, BIO2008-02292, and BIO2011-28847-C02-00España, Junta de Andalucía P06-CVI-01450 and P08-AGR-0358

Purification of Starch Granules from Arabidopsis Leaves and Determination of Granule-Bound Starch Synthase Activity

Starch constitutes the most important carbon reserve in plants and is composed of branched amylopectin and linear amylose. The latter is synthesized exclusively by the Granule-Bound Starch Synthase (GBSS, EC 2.4.1.21). Here we report a readily reproducible, specific and highly sensitive protocol, which includes the isolation of intact starch granules from Arabidopsis thaliana leaves and the subsequent determination of GBSS activity. We have applied this method to study GBSS activity in diurnal cycles in vegetative growth and during the photoperiodic transition to flowering in Arabidopsis (Tenorio et al., 2003; Ortiz-Marchena et al., 2014).España,MINECO CSD2007-00057, BIO2008-02292, and BIO2011-28847-C02-00España, Junta de Andalucía P06-CVI-01450 and P08-AGR-0358

Informe de la campaña de campo 2009 en el Agdal de Oukaïmeden (Alto Atlas, Marruecos)

Ruiz-Gálvez, Marisa et al.[ES] La campaña 2009 en Agdal de Oukaïmeden se ha centrado en diferentes líneas de trabajo: la excavación del Abrigo de los Elefantes o Adbasán, los sondeos realizados en Aguni Nait Warij, las excavaciones realizadas en los túmulos del valle de Oukaimed y el sondeo frente a la estación K-4.14 “Friso de los Elefantes”. Todas estas intervenciones han permitido, entre otros hallazgos, determinar cronologías. Por otro lado, la campaña ha incidido en la ejecución de distintos análisis polínicos, se han muestreado un total de 10 perfiles y se han tomado algunas muestras de musgos de los enclaves más significativos. Otra de las líneas de investigación en 2009 se ha dirigido a los procesos de deterioro de los grabados rupestres, proponiéndose recomendaciones de actuación al respecto, y a la intensificación del estudio general de arte rupestre en la zona, lo que ha propiciado nuevos descubrimientos. La campaña se ha completado con el trabajo etnoarqueológico desarrollado en contacto con los pastores del Atlas. [EN] The 2009 campaign in Agdal of Oukaïmeden has centred on different lines of work: the excavation of the Elefant's Shelter or Adbasan, the survey made in Aguni Nait Warij, the excavations made in the tombs of the Oukaimed valley and the surveying in front of the K-4.14 station >Elephant's Frieze>. All these interventions have allowed for, among other discoveries, determining chronologies. On the other hand, the campaign has focused on the execution of different analyses of pollen, showing a total of 10 profiles and moss samples of the most significant enclaves were also taken. Other lines of investigation in 2009 have been directed at the processes of deterioration of the cave wall etchings, proposing recommendations of actuation in response, and to the intensification of the general study of cavewall art in the area, which has led to new discoveries. The campaign has concluded with the ethno-archeological work developed in contact with the pastors of the Atlas.Peer Reviewe

Morphology-based automated baseline removal for raman spectra of artistic pigments

The interpretation of a Raman spectrum is based on the identification of its characteristic molecular bands. However, the assignment of the vibrational modes is often compromised by the presence in the spectrum of an intense fluorescence background that covers the measured spectra. Several techniques have been employed to minimize the presence of this fluorescence in order to resolve and analyze Raman spectra. In this paper a new automated method for fluorescence subtraction is described, based on morphology operations. This method is compared with the most commonly used polynomial fitting methods. Results indicate that the proposed automated method is efficient in fluorescence subtraction and retains the line shapes and positions of the Raman bands in the spectra.Postprint (published version

Physical Activity Practice, Sleeping Habits and Academic Achievement

There is a wide body of research that has identified the strong links between health behaviors and academic achievement. The media and official agencies strive to convey to schoolchildren and the public the need to show healthy lifestyles. However, it is striking that sleep habits have been considered in few occasions within healthy behaviors to be developed and promoted. Schools should encourage their students to be active because the effect of physical exercise will promote sleep and will positively affect the performance of academic tasks. Then, it is necessary to revitalize and establish the subject of Physical Education and Sport practice properly where the students can meet a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week. This approach will have a direct impact on the school children’s performance and health. Therefore, the key question is to decide whether educational centers must promote active lifestyles where sleep and exercise will be promoting or maintain schools where the body and body intelligence remain an irrelevant matter

Regulation of human Polλ by ATM-mediated phosphorylation during Non-Homologous End Joining

DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) trigger a variety of cellular signaling processes, collectively termed the DNA-damage response (DDR), that are primarily regulated by protein kinase ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM). Among DDR activated processes, the repair of DSBs by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is essential. The proper coordination of NHEJ factors is mainly achieved through phosphorylation by an ATM-related kinase, the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), although the molecular basis for this regulation has yet to be fully elucidated. In this study we identify the major NHEJ DNA polymerase, DNA polymerase lambda (Polλ), as a target for both ATM and DNA-PKcs in human cells. We show that Polλ is efficiently phosphorylated by DNA-PKcs in vitro and predominantly by ATM after DSB induction with ionizing radiation (IR) in vivo. We identify threonine 204 (T204) as a main target for ATM/DNA-PKcs phosphorylation on human Polλ, and establish that its phosphorylation may facilitate the repair of a subset of IR-induced DSBs and the efficient Polλ-mediated gap-filling during NHEJ. Molecular evidence suggests that Polλ phosphorylation might favor Polλ interaction with the DNA-PK complex at DSBs. Altogether, our work provides the first demonstration of how Polλ is regulated by phosphorylation to connect with the NHEJ core machinery during DSB repair in human cells.España MINECO y la Comisión Europea (European Regional Development Fund) to J.F.R. RYC-2011-08752, BFU2013-44343-P) and to F.C-L. (SAF2014-55532-R)

Boosting precision crop protection towards agriculture 5.0 via machine learning and emerging technologies: A contextual review

Crop protection is a key activity for the sustainability and feasibility of agriculture in a current context of climate change, which is causing the destabilization of agricultural practices and an increase in the incidence of current or invasive pests, and a growing world population that requires guaranteeing the food supply chain and ensuring food security. In view of these events, this article provides a contextual review in six sections on the role of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and other emerging technologies to solve current and future challenges of crop protection. Over time, crop protection has progressed from a primitive agriculture 1.0 (Ag1.0) through various technological developments to reach a level of maturity closelyin line with Ag5.0 (section 1), which is characterized by successfully leveraging ML capacity and modern agricultural devices and machines that perceive, analyze and actuate following the main stages of precision crop protection (section 2). Section 3 presents a taxonomy of ML algorithms that support the development and implementation of precision crop protection, while section 4 analyses the scientific impact of ML on the basis of an extensive bibliometric study of >120 algorithms, outlining the most widely used ML and deep learning (DL) techniques currently applied in relevant case studies on the detection and control of crop diseases, weeds and plagues. Section 5 describes 39 emerging technologies in the fields of smart sensors and other advanced hardware devices, telecommunications, proximal and remote sensing, and AI-based robotics that will foreseeably lead the next generation of perception-based, decision-making and actuation systems for digitized, smart and real-time crop protection in a realistic Ag5.0. Finally, section 6 highlights the main conclusions and final remarks

Clasificación y evaluación de métricas de mantenibilidad aplicables a productos de software libre

Un producto software es “software libre” si cumple cierta forma de licenciamiento. Esta forma contempla determinadas libertades que, en teoría, puede ejercer el usuario. De estos derechos, uno significativamente importante es la libertad de estudiar cómo funciona el programa y adaptarlo a sus necesidades. Para ejercer esta libertad, no basta con que la licencia exija la disponibilidad del código fuente, sino que también se requiere que el software posea características internas que faciliten la legibilidad y modificación del código. La “Mantenibilidad”1(Maintainability) es la facilidad con la que se modifica, mejora y/o adapta un producto software. Esta característica es identificada y definida por normas de calidad ampliamente aceptadas, que recomiendan establecer métricas para su evaluación. La línea de I+D presentada aquí, pretende evaluar y clasificar métricas para la “mantenibilidad” aplicables a productos software libre y desarrollar herramientas que las implementen, con el objetivo de favorecer la comprensión y modificación del código.Eje: Ingeniería de Software.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI